The US stock index futures tumbled following the fall in oil
prices. At 12:21 GMT (7:21 a.m. EST) in New York the Standard
& Poor’s 500 e-minis were down 14.5 points, or 0.73 percent,
with 183,494 contracts changing hands. At the same time E-mini
NASDAQ-100 futures were down by 0.85 percent hitting 35.25 points
in volume of 15,802 contracts. Dow Jones Industrial Average
contracts joined the fall sliding 100 points, or 0.58 percent
with 15,791 contracts.

“Contagion from the turmoil in oil markets will affect all
liquid markets, especially the ones that have made investors
money year-to-date.”

Shares of European companies linked to Russia also fell sharply
following the ruble. Raiffeisen Bank International hit a record
low, brewer Carlsberg slumped 5 percent to a 30-month low and
retailer Metro fell 3.5 percent.

The eurozone Euro STOXX 50 index joined the drop falling one
percent at 2,953.70 points at 12:15 GMT. At the same time the
STOXX Europe 600 tumbled down 0.7 percent at 321.07 points.

"All markets will be governed by this (the ruble's
slide)," Justin Haque, a broker at Hobart Capital Markets
told Reuters comparing the situation to Russia’s 1998 financial
crisis, which resulted in a default.

The drop in shares came despite Russia’s aggressive hike of key
interest rate to 17 percent late on Monday night.